debates

Created by

Chloe

Cards (50)

What is the nature-nurture debate? 
the arguments concerning whether psychological characteristics are biologically innate or learned through education, experience, environment and culture
Explain the nature debate?
adopts a deterministic view that all behavior is due to biology/hereditary factors and so are present at conception. genes provide the blue print of all behaviours
Explain the nurture debate?
we are a blank state at birth and waiting to be filled by experiences gained by environmental interaction. deterministic view as says all behaviour is a result of interactions (learning and observing)
Which studies/ areas support the nature debate?
Areas:
biological
cognitive

Studies:
maguire, Casey, Blackmore, sperry and grant
Which studies/ areas support the nurture debate?
Areas:
social
behaviourist

Studies:
milgram, levine, piliavin, bocchiaro
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the nature debate?
+:
scientific
use of objective measures
useful (drug treatments)
-:
reductionist
deterministic
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the nurture debate?
+:
high ecological valid research
highly valid and replicable research
useful (social interventions)
-:
reductionist
deterministic
Where do all the areas/ perspectives lie on the nature-nurture debate?
more nurture:
social- all behaviour caused by the perceived or actual presence of others in a environment
behaviourist- all behaviour is learnt and acquired through experience

middle:
I.D- everyone is unique and many factors contribute to behaviour
psychodynamic- behaviour is driven by unconscious desires and conflict between diff parts of personality
developmental-behaviour is caused by progression through stages of development which are innate but also learnt

more nature:
biological-assumes behaviour is caused by psychological processes such as brain function and hormones
cognitive-all behaviour is caused by cognition and processes in the mind
What is the reductionism v.s holism debate?
the arguments concerned with the reductionist approach that breaks behaviour down to its constituent parts and uses a single explanation to define behaviour or the holistic approach that sees behaviour as complex and so humans are whole and so interactions between all aspects of an individual are considered
Explain the reductionist debate? 
breaks human behaviour down into individual parts such as their biology or social experiences or their thought processes
is an experimental approach (IV and DV)
Explain the holistic debate? 
focuses on individual as a whole, their biology and their experiences and their thoughts. these factors cannot be isolated because they interact together
What studies/ areas support the reductionist approach?
areas:
biological
social
cognitive

studies:
bandura, milgram and moray
What studies/ areas support the holistic approach?
Areas:
individual differences
behaviourist
psychodynamic

studies:
freud, baron Cohen
What are the strength and weaknesses of the reductionist approach?
+:
able to measure behaviours more scientifically and so can establish causal relationships
if can define behaviour can provide treatments e.g low serotonin levels for depression
-:
ignore complex interactions
do not explain i.d
What are the strength and weaknesses of the holistic approach?
+:
better reflect human behaviour
specialised treatments
-:
cannot be tested scientifically
What is the determinism- free will debate? 
this debate either explains behaviour due to a lack of control such as genes and past experiences or as we are entirely free to chose our own behaviours and we bear full responsibility for our actions
Explain the deterministic debate? 
suggests that free will is an illusion and that even though we may feel like we make our own choices these are determined by outside forces
Explain the free will debate?
suggest that we completely free to chose our own behaviours and the choice is uninfluenced
What studies/ areas support the deterministic debate?
areas:
developmental
biological
cognitive
behaviorist

studies:
milgram
grant
bandura
freud
Casey
milgram
What studies/ areas support the free will debate?
areas:
social

studies:
pilivan, levine
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the deterministic debate?
+:
interventions to prevent behaviour
cause and effect relationships
supports psychology as a science
-:
lacks responsibility
reductionist
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the free will debate?
+:
accountability
-:
labelling
lack of treatments
What is the individual- situational debate?
the debate explains behaviour as either due to an individuals personality or disposition and their biology or explains behaviour down to circumstance or surroundings
Explain the individual debate?
person Is responsible for their own behaviour and behaviour is the same regardless of the situation.
dispositional aggression
Explain the situational debate? 
person is not held responsible for their own behaviour and they will behave different in different situations
Which studies/ areas support the individual debate?
areas:
biological
psychodynamic
I.D

studies:
maguire, Blackmore and Cooper, freud
Which studies/ areas support the situational debate?
areas:
social
cognitive

studies:
milgram, lofts and palmer
What are the strength and weaknesses of the individual debate?
+:
useful as they allow for tailored treatments
-:
reductionist
difficult to provide treatments
What are the strength and weaknesses of the situational debate?
+:
useful as allows for easy interventions/ treatments
-:
deterministic
What is the psychology as a science debate?
extent to which psychology can be seen as a science by demonstrating things such as replicability, cause and effect, objectivity and high controll.
What is cause and effect?
-Cause and effect: a causal link between two variables that shows a change in one corresponds to a change in the other
What is falsifiability? 
-falsifiability: be able to disprove a hypothesis or theory as well as being able to support it
What is objectivity? 
-objectivity: taking an unbiased External perspective there is not affected by an individual person point of view so should be consistent in between researchers example FMRI scans
What is replicatbility? 
-replicability: being able to repeat the original research in the exact same way and get similar results
What is induction? 
A scientific method they uses research to generate testable hypotheses which are developed into theories is done by creating hypotheses then testing then make a theory
What is deduction? 
A scientific method that first develops theories then develops hypotheses from theories to test
What is hypothesis testing?
Scientific evidence is gathered by demonstrating objectively that testable statement is either supported or not supported by the results
What is the manipulation of variables?
To test a hypothesis in a valid way and reliable way the IV must be clearly operationalised
What are quantifiable measures?
DV must be measured in numerical objective way so any changes them can be carefully measured
What is the control of variables?
This is essential so that extraneous variables cannot account for changes in the DV which would make any apparent effect of the IV invalid